Remember when I made the Concrete Pumpkin Planters from little plastic treat buckets? Well I’m on to a new holiday and a new concrete project. This time I’m making modern concrete Christmas trees. Use them inside or out. Make them skinny, fat, tall or short. They are so easy! I learned of this project when Joinery & Design Co. on Instagram shared how they created theirs last year. Having all of the supplies on hand from the concrete pumpkins, I took a stab at making them. Here is how I did it.

SUPPLIES NEEDED:

Poster Board

Packing Tape

Vegetable Oil Spray

Cement – Rapid Set or Portland Cement

Clear Spray Sealer, optional

Begin by making your cones from poster board. You can make them tall and skinny or short and chunky depending on how you roll them. For the tall, skinny trees, use rectangle poster board pieces in various sizes and roll tightly. Seal the seams well inside and out with packing tape to prevent cement from escaping.

To make shorter, chunkier trees use poster board cut in circles by using various lengths of string and a pencil to draw circles. Mark the center of each circle and cut one line from edge to center of circle.

Cross over both ends and tighten to make tree as skinny or wide as you like.

Use packing tape to seal edges and point.

Generously spray the inside of your forms with vegetable oil spray to prevent the poster board from sticking to your finished concrete trees.

Mix concrete to a thick but pourable consistency. Make sure it’s not too watery which will cause your final product to crack. You can use Rapid Set or Portland Cement – whatever you prefer.

Pour concrete into the molds. It may be helpful to have someone to hold the molds while someone else pours the concrete. Tap edges of the molds to remove any air bubbles.

You will need something to hold your filled molds while the concrete dries. Joinery & Design Co. used holes drilled in plywood to slip the molds into. I opted for a bucket of rocks. Anything will work as long as your molds are held level for at least 24 hours.

Once the concrete if fully dried after 24-48 hours, peal poster board from the concrete trees to reveal the final product. There may be some areas where the poster board leaves tiny pieces in the concrete. Use sand paper to remove the remaining paper bits. Seal with clear spray sealer, if desired.

You now have cute modern Christmas trees to use indoors or outside that will last for years to come. And when you eat too many holiday treats, you can use them as weights to get in a little New Year’s workout before you put them away for the year.